Brian Lynch

Born September 12, 1956 in Urbana, Illinois, Lynch grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he apprenticed on a high level with such local residents as pianist Buddy Montgomery and organist Mel Rhyne, while earning a degree from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. Located in San Diego in 1980-81, he gained further valuable experience in the group of alto master Charles McPherson.

A respected insider within both the straight-ahead jazz and Latin communities, Brian Lynch is as comfortable negotiating the complexities of clave with Afro-Caribbean pioneer Eddie Palmieri as he is swinging through advanced harmony with bebop maestro Phil Woods. He's worked in recent years with Buena Vista Social Club alumnus Barbarito Torres, remix artist Joe Clausell, and the critically-acclaimed Latin alternative group Yerba Buena. Brian arranges for Japanese pop star Mika Nakashima and producer Shinichi Osawa, has written string charts for Phil Woods, and has played with such pop luminaries as Maxwell, Prince, and Sheila E.

Towards the end of 1981, Lynch moved to New York, and soon found himself playing with the likes of Horace Silver and Toshiko Akiyoshi. Simultaneously, he played and recorded on the Latin scene with salsa bandleaders Angel Canales and the late Hector LaVoe (on whose forthcoming biopic "El Cantante," starring Marc Anthony, Lynch played trumpet and did brass arrangements).

Lynch began his association with Eddie Palmieri in 1987. At the end of 1988, he joined what turned out to be the final edition of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He began his association with Phil Woods in 1992, and also worked frequently with Benny Golson around this time.

In 1986, Lynch made his recorded debut as a leader on "Peer Pressure," for Criss-Cross, followed by "Back Room Blues" and "At The Main Event" (also for Criss-Cross), "In Process" (Ken), "Keep Your Circle Small" (Sharp Nine), and a string of sideman dates with Art Blakey and Phil Woods.

Lynch's 1997 recording, Spheres of Influence (Sharp Nine) earned a 4-1/2 star Downbeat review and was Lynch's first project to reflect the panoramic range of interests that influence his working life as a musician. During the following years he documented cross-cultural investigations with Eddie Palmieri's seminal Afro-Caribbean Jazz Octet on Arete, Palmas and Vortex (Nonesuch and RMM). As the ‘90s progressed, he steadily refined his concept, eventually collaborating with Palmieri as an arranger, co-composer and musical director. In a rare gesture, Palmieri took advantage of Lynch's pen on the recent albums "La Perfecta II" and "Ritmo Caliente" (Concord Picante). The synchronistic nature of their relationship has continued as Palmieri collaborated with Lynch on the trumpeter's ambitious new project for ArtistShare, "Simpático."

Brian currently holds faculty positions at New York University and the North Netherlands Conservatory, has taught at the Stanford Jazz Workshop several summers, and has conducted workshops at The Eastman School of Music, Dartmouth University, the University of North Texas, and Columbia University, among many others. Many of today's finest young jazz trumpeters call him a mentor.

For more information visit Brian's website at http://www.brianlynchjazz.com or his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/brianlynchjazz.